A Study Of Qi Ying And Commercial Treaty In Late Qing Dynasty(1842-1848)

Commerce treaties are the legal basis for regulating international trade under the modern state order.Because it is closely related to national sovereignty and economic interests,it is regarded as the most important in the treaty.As the signatory of the first treaties between China and the West,Qi Ying was the highest official of the Qing government’s negotiations with Western countries,signing the Treaty of Nanjing,the Treaty of Wangxia,and the Treaty of Whampoa,as well as dealing with trade and other aftermath matters.The Qing Dynasty inherited the Huayi view of order of the previous dynasty,and the tributary system became the main way of Sino-foreign exchanges.The British government,committed to the goal of global "free trade",tried to knock on the door of the Celestial Empire by force,and the new officials under the Celestial Empire system still used the policy of restraint and softness to deal with negotiations with Britain.Diplomatic and military activities suffered setbacks one after another,and they were forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing,which humiliated the country.However,the Treaty of Nanjing,signed at the time of his death,did not establish a practical and effective trade model,and Qi Ying once again went to Guangzhou as "foreign secretary" to conduct commercial negotiations with Britain,and the United States and Law took this opportunity to follow suit.Adhering to the ideas of "being gentle and distant people" and "treating people equally",he concluded a treaty of commerce with him,and the relationship between China and foreign commercial treaties was initially established.Due to the unequal nature of the treaty itself,it has had a very bad impact on China’s national economy,especially tariffs.In order to expand their commercial interests in China and further open up the Chinese market,the great powers rushed to demand a revision of the treaty,and only a few decades after the signing of the "forever peace treaty" and the "Treaty of Nanjing" by the elders and Britain,under the coercion of the great powers,the "Treaty of Tianjin" and the subsequent "Customs Tariff Rules" were forced to sign,marking the basic formation of various major systems to facilitate foreigners to engage in trade with China.With the signing of a series of Sino-foreign treaties,the officials of the Celestial Empire gradually deepened their understanding of the treaty and realized the infringement of national interests by the treaty,and the Qing government subsequently adjusted from razing affairs to foreign affairs,learning advanced Western science and technology based on the principle of "using Chinese bodies and Western use";With the assistance of the great powers,the General Department of Customs and Taxation was set up to collect customs duties,and China’s customs administration power was completely controlled by outsiders from then on.However,the adjustment of the Qing government did not fundamentally change the old system and concepts,and could not truly reverse the situation of passive beatings and loss of national economic interests.